Whitfield challenges next crop of triathletes

TORONTO — Simon Whitfield isn’t totally closing the door on making one last Olympic hurrah at the Rio Games in 2016.

He’s hoping Canadian triathletes do that for him.

Whitfield wants to see the younger generation of athletes step up in the coming years so that he won’t have to make a decision on whether to compete at a fifth Olympic Games.

“Don’t leave the door open,” Whitfield said Tuesday. “Make it impossible for me to come back, by being so good that there’s no opportunity.”

Whitfield recently declined to join the national team for the first time in 17 years. He’s planning to focus on racing longer distances, which will allow him to train close to home and his family in Victoria.

Triathlon Canada has said Whitfield is welcome to return to the national team, but won’t reserve a spot for the two-time Olympic medallist. If he wants to race for Canada again at top international events, he’ll have to earn it racing full time.

Whitfield is confident that younger triathletes like Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ont., and Andrew Yorke of Caledon East, Ont., will continue their progression over the next few seasons. He’s hoping the next generation sees the possibility of his return as a positive challenge, a sentiment echoed by national team coach Barrie Shepley.

“It’s good to hear the legend say, ‘I’m going to take your food away if you don’t eat it,“’ Shepley said.

Whitfield, Shepley and paratriathlete Grant Darby were on hand at a mid-town elementary school Tuesday for the launch of “Tri This,” a recruitment initiative from Triathlon Canada. The goal is to attract athletes to the sport with strong backgrounds in running and swimming who have the desire to become world-class triathletes.

Whitfield has won every major triathlon title and is one of the most successful athletes in the sport’s history. He has recorded 14 World Cup victories and eight top-10 finishes at the world championships.

He also won gold at the 2000 Sydney Games and added silver eight years later in Beijing.

However, Whitfield’s fourth Olympic Games ended abruptly last summer when he crashed after hitting a speed bump in London. He broke his collarbone and required stitches in his toe.